Reminder: New Form I-9 Takes Effect April 3, 2009

After a delayed implementation, the new Form I-9 takes effect on Friday, April 3, 2009. Employers must use the new Form I-9 for all new employees hired on or after April 3. The new form is available on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website along with an updated version of the I-9 Handbook for Employers.

What’s new?

DHS made several changes to the I-9 regulations and to the Form I-9. The following are the most notable updates:

• Expired documents are no longer acceptable.
• U.S. nationals and U.S. citizens have separate status boxes in Section One.
• Legacy Employment Authorization Cards and Temporary Resident Cards are no longer acceptable.
• Documents have been added as acceptable evidence of identity and of employment authorization.

In addition, DHS has issued a new I-9 Handbook for Employers, which is available here. Like the new Form I-9, employers are encouraged to review the new Handbook now but should not apply its policies to their I-9 practices until April 3, 2009.

For a more thorough explanation of these updates, please see our previous alert titled "New Form I-9 Revealed.”

What if we have questions or need assistance?

The Seyfarth Workforce Authorization Team (SWATeam) is a team of attorneys and paralegals with experience in the immigration and employment laws applicable to workforce authorization. The SWATeam provides employers with detailed information about compliance with I-9 regulations. For more information about the Form I-9, E-Verify, or other workforce authorization matters, please contact the Seyfarth attorney with whom you work, or any Business Immigration attorney on our website. We stand ready to assist you.